CEO refocuses institution's mission while leading fundraising effort

Sophia Siskel likes to think of the Chicago Botanic Garden as her ship, and herself as its captain. On a gray, spring afternoon, it seems her metaphor might prove a bit too true.

Siskel, 44, CEO of the North Shore institution since 2007, patrols the grounds in a rain jacket, rain boots and jeans just hours before one of the organization's biggest annual shindigs, the gala kickoff for the 13th Antique and Garden Fair. More than 700 patrons are expected.

Siskel, a descendant of an early family of Chicago art patrons, should be dressed for the event by now and mingling with early arrivals. Instead, she's preparing for the worst-case scenario: flooding.

The evening before brought torrential rains, leaving some parking lots and walkways underwater. Siskel and her team, from operations chiefs to valet parkers, fear the water will rise to engulf more of the campus, posing a safety risk as well as drenching the party.

A self-described worrier, Siskel has a plan, not only for the guests, but also for the vendors and their merchandise. If water reached the tents, Siskel says, she and "every person here (would) pick those antiques up off the ground, which is not ideal, but we could do it."

In the end, the gala goes off without a hitch, even if not as many patrons show up as expected. It raises $258,000 for the 385-acre garden, conservation and education center.

In the weeks after the event, as spring turns to summer, more visitors pop in for a walk, or a yoga or horticultural class. Children enroll in day camp or observe the butterflies habitat, enjoying programming that Siskel has worked to make more broadly welcoming.

The 41-year-old garden, a public-private partnership between the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Chicago Horticultural Society, is a research and educational institution with almost 40 conservation scientists supported by a team of about 200 students and volunteers.

The garden serves as a training ground for future land stewards and researchers, Siskel says, from graduate students at Northwestern University to interns for the Bureau of Land Management. In one year, it provides instruction — in topics from garden care and maintenance to conservation biology — to 80,000 students of all ages. Through its urban agricultural program, the garden produces about 90,000 pounds of fresh produce that is made available in underserved areas.

Yet the garden's beauty, with its vast landscapes, prairies and blooms, makes some people, including some Chicago-areacivic leaders, dismiss it as frivolous, Siskel says. To them, "we're like your pretty, daft cousin," Siskel says. "That someone can be so dismissive of a place, where they haven't been or don't understand because they think it's all about beauty is maddening."

Planning for growth

There are other challenges — specifically, money. Siskel has raised 30 percent of the $125 million she was charged with bringing in beginning in 2009, when the Botanic Garden finalized its 10-year strategic plan.

With $36 million in the bank and $89 million left to go, Siskel is working to construct a campus for students of all ages that will train the next generation of scientists and naturalists, among other projects. There are plans to build greenhouses and nurseries, with naming rights available for buildings, classrooms and positions.

Amid trouble at institutions where finances have not always kept pace with big ideas for growth, Siskel maintains that her goal is ambitious, yet appropriate.

"If you look at the goals for other major cultural institutions, it's not really out of order," she says.

Some $40 million will be dedicated to the garden's endowment, which she says is crucial to helping the organization ride out economic uncertainty in future years.

Now is a good time to raise money, according to Mary Morris, associate professor of museum studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "We are coming out of this terrible recession, but it doesn't mean we won't have another," Morris says. "That's why the endowment is such an important piece. You need to have a cushion."

Siskel says no shovel will go into the ground unless she has raised at least 80 percent of the funds and the rest is promised in the near future. "The worst-case scenario is that it takes longer to raise than we would like," she says. "We will not spend money we do not have."

By "we" she means she's not doing this alone. Siskel frequently opts to pass credit along to her full-time staff of 240. Still, she's known as a strong manager and a perfectionist. That's in part why she was hired, says Will Hagenah, a former chairman of the board at the Botanic Garden who also led the search committee that chose Siskel.